An Irish couple who were robbed and raped during a Christmas holiday in Thailand have spoken about their "terrifying" ordeal.

Gerald Drumgoole and his husband Michael Burnett were attacked on a night out in Phuket after their drinks were spiked.

Their attackers stole more than €450 and two iPhones belonging to the couple, before subjecting them to a horrific sexual assault.

Gerald and Michael - both 33 - returned to their native Belfast on Wednesday before undergoing medical tests with their own GP which confirmed they had been raped.

It was their sixth trip to Thailand, but following last month's attack they have vowed never to return.

"We have been to Thailand before, but we have never experienced anything like this," Gerald told Belfast Live.

"On the night we were attacked Michael and I decided to go out for some drinks to celebrate New Year's Eve. We had a beer in one bar and then moved on to another. It was in the second bar that our drinks were spiked with a date-rape drug.

"After that we can't remember anything. It was only well after the attack took place that we realised that we had been attacked and raped.

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"We went to our own doctor in Belfast who confirmed we had been raped. It has just been a very traumatic time for both of us. We have had to be tested for HIV and given an HPV vaccine and tested for syphilis.

"Michael and I have to go to the GUM (Genitourinary Medicine) clinic for further tests - it has been a complete nightmare."

The couple also hit out at the service provided by their travel insurance company OUL Direct who Gerald claimed "abandoned" them in Phuket.

"We were told that we had to contact the insurance company before deciding on which hospital to go to in Phuket. We phoned OUL Direct for five days and all they kept telling us was that they would send an email on and get someone to call us," Gerald said.

"On the fifth day my family back in Belfast got in touch with the British Embassy in Bangkok and we finally got sent to a hospital, but the hospital wouldn't accept our insurance documents.

"We then got sent to a private hospital, which insurance companies don't usually do, but because of our case they got us into this facility. The insurance company also said they would cover all charges, because they knew we had no money after being robbed.

"It was agreed that our excess fee would be paid, but after we received the treatment we were told we had to pay it."